The Holy Apostles came to Jesus inquiring about “the end”, “And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world? And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. And ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. All these are the beginning of sorrows. Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake. And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.”[i] This begs the question, “What does it mean to endure?”
All of us have some sense of what endurance means, whether it be ascribed to running a race, hiking, or completing a task that is lengthy in duration. The act of enduring can often resemble a battle, complete with injuries, casualties, and even emotional and mental scars. If we were speaking only in terms of life in this world, then these examples might be a sufficient explanation of enduring. However, we are speaking of the spiritual life, which simply put, is lived in tension between the kingdom of this world and the Kingdom of God. This tension, this battle between myself, my passions, and the desire to know God and be known by Him. In the matter of a few moments, I am praying the prayer, giving thanks to God, and then by a thought, a single arrow, pierced and dragged down into my passions. This cycle is likely to be repeated until The Lord decides I have reached a point in which I can no longer repent. How then do I, we endure until the end?
The Lord Jesus gives us the answer in His response to the Holy Apostles. Firstly, “Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.” We have the distinct advantage of looking back through history to see that indeed, many have come in Christ’s name and have deceived many. One needs only to look at the various “Christian” denominations in existence today which are the baren and shriveled branches of schism. Some, in the course of The Church decided they knew better than the Lord, the Holy Apostles, the Holy Fathers, and altered the teachings of The Church creating a rift or schism and thereby removing themselves and their followers from The Church. Therefore, draw near and stay near to The Church and her teachings. One should be able to look, as it were through the consensus of the Saints, the Holy Fathers, and the Ethos (Phronema) of the Church to see the royal path. If one is found to be teaching something that falls outside of the Phronema, we should use extreme caution when listening to or reading what they have to say.
Our Lord continues saying, “And ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. All these are the beginning of sorrows.” See that ye be not troubled. How difficult is this saying of our Christ? As a modern, globally connected society we are pumped full of narratives twenty-four-seven, three-hundred-sixty-five days a year. We are connected not only to these professional narratives, marketed by governments and corporations, but to social networks which mostly parrot the professional narratives, but often present the thoughts of individuals. All of this culminates in a cacophony of anti-quiet, prayer-stripping, and soul-corrupting anxiety. If then, Jesus says, “All these are the beginning of sorrows”, shouldn’t we be mindful to avoid the streams by which these pollutants enter into our spaces? Please do not misunderstand me, I am not suggesting you become a luddite, but maybe an increase of mindfulness is in order. Humble prayer and fasting are the mighty weapons of peace which the Christian wields and by God’s mercy defeats all the passions in His good and perfect timing.
“Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake. And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another.” Just because you may live in a country that has not experienced widespread persecution of Orthodox Christians does not mean that it will always be. It is only a matter of time before our mere presence as Orthodox Christians will enrage those who do not know the love of God. In my experience I am not sure which is worse, the persecution from those whom we share the chalice with or those who are outside of the Kingdom of God. Whether inside or outside of the Church, worldwide persecution of Orthodox Christians has been and will continue to be until the second coming of our Lord God and Savior Jesus Christ. Consider it a blessing; Salvific opportunities to live the spiritual life, practicing humility, divine love, and long-suffering. Bless those who curse you; love those who hate you Dear to Christ.
“And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.” The false prophets are those who proclaim a different gospel, one of “Global Unity”, “Shared Experience”, and “Tolerance”. While on the surface, these ideas may seem well and good, they are not born out of divine love, but out of a fallen human desire to be god without God. True Union with God through His One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church, reception of Holy Baptism, Chrismation, Confession, the Holy Body and Blood of Christ, and living the spiritual life bears all the fruit which these worldly “prophets” preach but are unable to fulfill. Just as Satan appeared to Christ and promised[ii] Him all the Kingdoms of the world, Kingdoms which he did not possess, so these false ones promise mankind and yet they have no power or authority to deliver. Only brokenness, false promises, and hate follow them. This gospel of hate can never heal but only further harm those who follow it. As followers of Jesus Christ, we cannot at once have love and hate dwell in us, for we will be like a man tossed about, back and forth in the ocean of the world.
Thus, Christ reveals to His Holy Apostles and us what it means to endure to the end. Do not be deceived, do not be troubled, and above all do not let your love grow cold. “A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.”[iii] “Owe no man anything, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law.”[iv] “With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love;”[v] “For this is the message that ye heard from the beginning, that we should love one another.”[vi] “Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God.”[vii] Love, Dear to Christ is the key, not a worldly love with strings attached, but divine love which is none other than Jesus Christ Himself. May Christ our true and perfect God help us, save us, have mercy on us, and keep us by His grace +
[i] Matthew 24:1-14 – https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+24%3A1-14&version=KJV
[ii] Matthew 4:8-9 – https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+4%3A8-9&version=KJV
[iii] John 13:34-35 – https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John%2013%3A34-35&version=KJV
[iv] Romans 13:8 – https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans%2013%3A8&version=KJV
[v] Ephesians 4:2 – https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Ephesians%204%3A2&version=KJV
[vi] 1 John 3:11 – https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20John%203%3A11&version=KJV
[vii] 1 John 4:7 – https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20John%204%3A7&version=KJV
Ascending The Cross 
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